Hounds growing through 0-5 season

FORT MADISON – The Fort Madison Bloodhound football team is growing through a lot of changes this year - staffing, personnel, success.
But all things considered, which includes an 0-5 season and a battle with Keokuk for the County Seat coming tomorrow, it’s exactly what Head Coach Derek Doherty is looking for.
“It’s the motto we’ve taken on. Grow through it. I hold myself accountable for that and I’m holding everyone else accountable,” he said Thursday.
“We feel we did see a lot of growth last week. Whether the season's going well or we’re fighting uphill, you have to continue to grow. And we’re pushing that message.”
The Hounds looked markedly more loose and and even a little dangerous in last week’s 42-19 loss to Assumption. The 1-4 Knights held a slim 14-13 advantage at the half, but wore the Hounds down running the ball off tackle in the second half.
The good stuff was that senior quarterback Marcus Guzman and senior wideout Brody Cashman had a night, hooking up for 141 yards and a score through the air. Guzman had his most balanced night of the year throwing for more than 200 yards and two scores.
The Hounds had trouble with senior tailback Ben Yeggy, who rushed for 200 yards on just 13 carries.
This week the Hounds will take on a 2-3 Keokuk squad that has won two of their last three and is playing on a brand new turf with a brand new head coach in former Iowa Hawkeye standout Marvin McNutt.
Doherty said McNutt has had an impact locally and brought some excitement to the area. But he said it’s still Fort Madison kids against Keokuk kids Friday night.
The Keokuk kids start with quarterback Brendon Hoard, who has more than 850 yards passing and eight TDs against seven interceptions. He also has 400 yards rushing and eight scores accounting for 16 of the team's 18 scores on the campaign.  Senior Malachi Allison also has over 100 yards rushing this season. Senior Drew Campbell and Junior Mason Claus have the lion’s share of receptions.
Doherty said the Keokuk offense is very similar to what Fort Madison is doing and has done in the past.
“He plays quarterback well. He played last year well and he’s grown,” Doherty said of Hoard.

“We see a lot of similarities to what we’ve done in the past and what they’re doing. We’re familiar with what they do and we’ve got to have a plan to stop them. They’re going to catch the ball and get yards,” he said.
“Our thing in the past has been bend, don’t break, and we’ve got to get back to that. A lot of times this year we get to third down and we shoot ourselves in the foot. That’s something we have to grow into again and stop fighting ourselves in those situations.”
The Hounds will be missing running back Caden Barnes who Doherty thinks may be done for the season. But for the rest of the Hounds, it’s typical dings for midway through the season. Cashman was dealing with an illness last week and a sore arm, but Doherty said he should be good to go.
“Cashman has bounced back well and is over that sickness. It’s week 5, if you’re 100% you’re probably not playing very hard. But the kids are doing a good job of taking care of themselves.”
With Barnes out, the Hounds are looking to freshman Mo Thacher in certain situations, but Doherty said they want to bring him along at a good pace.
“Mo ran the ball really well. He’s continuing to impress in practice. He’s not gun-shy. He’s competed at higher levels and gone to tough wrestling events and that’s helped him mentally. You don’t want a gun-shy dawg, but that’s not the case with him. He’s very strong for a freshman, but a freshman going up against 18-yea- olds.”
“He does a great job of pressing the line of scrimmage, and he’s made some pretty good cuts. That’s with him drilling with Coach (Patrick) Lamb, and an innate feel for the field. That’s exciting for us for the future.”
Doherty said the play calling in last week’s loss wasn’t that different than the other four games this season. He just said the kids were willing to play with a little more freedom.
“It was more of a different mentality. I lot of our kids feel like they're trying to protect the legacy of the last few years. In reality they’re not, this a brand new team. This is not last year’s team or the year before. These are kids we haven’t played before and there is no defending champion here,” Doherty said.
“We talk to the kids about not protecting. Play fast, play loose, and be you. Marcus is guilty of that. He’s a second-year starter, a senior,  and feels he has to do this and do that. No. Just be you.”
Doherty said the staff likes it when Guzman is feeling a little “dangerous” with the ball.
“I believe in him whole heartedly and when he’s letting it fly.  He was playing so tight and trying to protect. Things haven’t been going well, so we have nothing to lose.”
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at the newly renovated Calvert Stadium Friday night in Keokuk.